Abstract: A method for guiding a child in the self-selection of a nutritionally-balanced meal in order to increase the likelihood that the child will consume a nutritionally-balanced meal, the method comprising: creating a system of food categories according to nutritional content, and associating a unique visual guide with each food category; providing an offering of food items, each of the food items having the appropriate visual guide displayed therewith; providing the child with a tray having a plurality of different sections thereon, each of the sections having a visual guide associated therewith; and instructing the child to self-select a plurality of food items, and place each selected food item in the section of the tray which has a visual guide which matches the visual guide associated with the food category to which that food item belongs, until pre-determined criteria have been satisfied.